CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Movie Review
Chilling, Creepy ‘Apollo 18’ Makes Us Wonder What If
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 2, 2011 - 6:11pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Space, the final frontier. The USA made one giant leap for mankind during the Apollo moon landing program forty years ago. Why were the missions abruptly terminated? Why haven’t they gone back? “Apollo 18” theorizes on the answers.
‘A Good Old Fashioned Orgy’ Can’t Get it Up
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 2, 2011 - 8:45am Rating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Rarely have so many talented comedians been sucked into a more depressing morass of bad comic timing and worse writing than in the dreadful “A Good Old-Fashioned Orgy,” a movie with a bunch of people I like making a comedy I really, really hate. This movie knows nothing about friendship, sex, or, most importantly, comedy.
Strength of ‘Life, Above All’ Found in Khomotso Manyaka
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 2, 2011 - 8:07am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – As long as one person is inflicted with HIV, or full-blown AIDS, the crisis will never be averted, despite less of a profile in America and Europe. Africa is still in the midst of dealing with the epidemic, and Khomotso Manyaka portrays a symbol of that struggle in the enlightening “Life, Above All.”
Vera Farmiga Wrestles Religion in ‘Higher Ground’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on September 2, 2011 - 7:41am Rating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The subject of religion in America is rarely portrayed honestly in the movies, with its power to both inspire or offend. Vera Farmiga makes her directorial debut and plays the lead character in the religious-themed “Higher Ground.”
Renny Harlin’s ‘5 Days of War’ Succumbs to Action Clichés
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 2, 2011 - 7:20am Rating: 1.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “5 Days of War” is a stark reminder of the atrocities that can occur when a B-movie director tries to tackle serious material. The Russo-Georgian War of 2008 was largely ignored by the U.S. government and media, so it was only a matter of time until filmmakers attempted to raise belated awareness about the devastation.
Yvan Attal Keeps Attention ‘Rapt’ in Chilling Drama
Submitted by mattmovieman on September 1, 2011 - 7:19amRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The kidnapped industrialist is pretty sure that he heard the voice somewhere before. He’s just not sure where. Perhaps it was at a poker game. Perhaps it belonged to one of the faceless men that watched stealthily as he recklessly risked his fortune on the gambling table.
Performance of Exemplary Cast Collects on ‘The Debt’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 31, 2011 - 6:54amRating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Re-imagining, almost re-engaging the evil of the Holocaust has been thoroughly examined in film for years. “The Debt” looks at another angle, that of revenge and how much that revenge can wreak havoc on the truth.
Paul Rudd Makes a Difference as ‘Our Idiot Brother’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 27, 2011 - 12:42amRating: 3.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Advertised deceptively as a comedy, the new film “My Idiot Brother” has a Zen-like quality that is surprising, and oddly captivating, but cannot sustain itself and eventually runs out of steam. Paul Rudd plays the brother to three errant sisters, portrayed by Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer.
Zoe Saldana Sinks in Tedious, Illogical ‘Colombiana’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 26, 2011 - 4:31pmRating: 1.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Only the director of “The Transporter 3” could make a movie in which the gorgeous Zoe Saldana changes outfits as often as she speaks lines of dialogue as dull as the tedious, illogical, useless “Colombiana.” Sure, the final showdown has some damn cool action but it takes a hundred often-unbearable minutes to get there.
‘Brighton Rock’ Remake Fails to Justify its Existence
Submitted by BrianTT on August 26, 2011 - 3:56pm Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Rowan Joffe’s long-gestating remake of “Brighton Rock” (the 1947 noir classic was based on the beloved book by Graham Greene) raises the question least-desired in one of these situations – why bother? Sure, the story is a nifty little tale of a rising criminal undone by his own avarice and the love of a girl and the cast assembled for the remake is an undeniably talented ensemble.
